(ANSA) - ROME, APRIL 05 - Over 400,000 refugees and refugees from tomorrow will find themselves without a place to go: tomorrow the ultimatum placed two weeks ago by the Kenyan government to UNHCR to close the two largest refugee camps in the African country, those of Dadaab and Kakuma.
The latter is home to around 190,000 people, most of whom come from South Sudan, while Dadaab hosts nearly 250,000, mostly Somalis displaced by the outbreak of the civil war in 1991. But the refugees also come from Ethiopia, Tanzania, Burundi and Uganda. other East African countries.
The two camps are located in eastern Kenya, not far from the border with Somalia.
And by tomorrow, if the Onuper refugee agency does not have an alternative plan, the camps will be dismantled and the refugees will be forcibly accompanied to the Somali border.
"There is no room for future negotiations", Kenyan interior minister Fred Matiang cut short on 24 March with UNHCR, in presenting the ultimatum.
Today a report by the Al Jazeera broadcaster collects the moods among the guests of Dadaab and Kakyma, stating that the words that most recur are "terrified", "shocked" and "inhumane".
"I don't know if the (Nairobi) government sat down and pondered the lives of the people living in the camp or if they woke up one morning with this idea," commented Austin Baboya, a 26-year-old South Sudanese refugee living in Kakuma, interviewed by the issuer.
"Now all over the camp the news has spread panic and many people have lost all hope."
"Where can we go?" Asks Ethiopian David Omot, who has lived between the two camps since 2005, desperately.
On the day of the ultimatum, UNHCR wrote that "the decision could have an impact on the protection of refugees in Kenya, even in context. of the Covid-19 pandemic ", but" we will continue our dialogue with the Kenyan authorities on this issue. We urge the Kenyan government to ensure that any decision allows for adequate and sustainable solutions to be found and that those who continue to need protection are placed in the conditions of receive it, "added UNHCR.
(HANDLE).